So You Want to Start a COVID Farm?

With the virus exposing the weak spots in our globalized economy, there’s no better time to start a COVID farm to improve your food security.

The first things to disappear from store shelves were the hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and of course the toilet paper. Soon enough, the milk and eggs, the ground beef, the flour and yeast were gone, too. Now every trip to the grocery store is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get. With an uncertain but certainly strange future ahead, the panic-buying has expanded to agricultural items, like vegetable seeds and baby chicks. Suddenly the prepper subculture doesn’t look so crazy after all. Is it time to start your own COVID farm?

Since the nation’s grocery stores have become increasingly unreliable, both as a way to buy food and because of the dangers of mingling with large numbers of people who may be sick, smaller local farmers have stepped in to fill the gap. It’s hard to start a COVID farm in Los Angeles proper, but for those who can afford it, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscriptions have jumped in popularity, delivering weekly boxes of fresh produce, pastured eggs, and even value-added foods like artisanal cheeses and sourdough bread, reconnecting customers to local farms and small-scale distribution systems. Some small farmers who exclusively supplied restaurants, who are now suddenly left without buyers, are also hoping the CSA model will save their farms while increasing food security in their communities.

Victory garden poster from 1945. Public domain U.S. government image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

That edge could become more important than you think. The novel coronavirus isn’t the only threat looming ahead. Much like the 2019 planting season, 2020 is slow out of the gate due to saturated soil. It looks to be another year of devastating floods and above average hurricane activity. The economy was already shaky before the virus appeared, but now it’s in a shambles. Finally, don’t forget the existential threats of climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, that are batting cleanup versus industrial culture.

About Dawn Allen

Dawn Allen is a freelance writer and editor who is passionate about sustainability, political economy, gardening, traditional craftwork, and simple living. She and her husband are currently renovating a rural homestead in southeastern Michigan.

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